With all the chaos surrounding Ohio athletics this week, it would have been possible to miss the positive news from this weekend. Of course, I am talking about the Ohio volleyball team.
No, the news isn't that the Bobcats won their match Saturday ' they swept their competition. The exciting news was that the match drew a record 1,804 fans for Ohio volleyball. And not only was the attendance record broken, it was shattered by 556.
So, the Bobcats' first home, weekend match of the season brought in a crowd that not only set the Ohio attendance record but was also the biggest crowd for a Mid-American Conference volleyball match this season. This is a pretty big deal, especially for a rising program like Ohio.
While I didn't realize how big the crowd was Saturday when covering the match, coach Geoff Carlston informed me Monday when I was in The Convo.
Now, midway through his fourth year at Ohio, Carlston has stressed packing the gym to make use of home court advantage. Carlston and the Bobcats have tried handing out free pizza, creating a new O-Zone for volleyball and giving away iPods to get fans out to the matches.
All these little steps have helped bring people to The Convo, and Carlston's theory has been this: Getting people to the matches will get them hooked. The endless promotions have done their job. The attendance for Ohio volleyball has been rising since Carlston's first season with the Bobcats, and with each year the fan support grows.
Carlston's goal was to make Ohio one of the toughest places for other teams to come play, and that is taking shape. The Bobcats, backed by a growing fan base and now a Marching 110 alumni band, have had huge success. The Bobcats' home-match winning streak reached 39 matches Saturday and is the longest in the nation.
With the best home-match winning streak in place, Carlston still wants his team to have one of the largest average crowds in the country.
After only two home matches this season, Ohio has moved into 20th place in home attendance for Division I volleyball. The average attendance for Ohio is 1,320 people, and the record crowd of 1,804 people Saturday was the 83rd-highest-attended match in Division I this season.
However, Carlston isn't happy with where the attendance is at. He wants bigger and better things for his team.
So, no matter what else is going on with the Ohio athletics department, there is one constant on campus ' the volleyball team. And they will be making more good news as they strive for a fourth straight MAC championship and aim for an even larger home attendance record. Nick Miller is a senior journalism major and volleyball beat writer for The Post. Send him an e-mail at nm202803@ohiou.edu.
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